


Lets Make Our Family Complete

by spaceflower



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: 5+1 Things, Adoption, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Original Character(s), Sick Character, Sonny has a daughter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 09:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30086859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceflower/pseuds/spaceflower
Summary: Five times Rafael considered Sonny's kid as his own and one time they make it official.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	Lets Make Our Family Complete

1.

Sonny had a child with his previous relationship. She died giving birth, it broke Sonny’s heart. He took one look at his daughter and fell in love, he would do anything to protect her. He named her after her mother, Elena Grace Carisi. His shining light. He kept her out of his files at work, he knew the risks of being a detective and didn’t want to take a chance with losing her. No one knew about her and he wanted to keep it that way. Rafael was the first one to find out about Elena, he was hesitant at first, he wasn’t good with kids, but Sonny reassured him that it would be okay. 

Elena was only two when Rafael first met her. They instantly bonded with each other. Elena cried every time Rafael had to leave. Sonny sometimes wondered if Rafael only came over to see her, not that he could blame him. Sonny loved watching him interact with her when he would rock and sing her to sleep, or read to her. Everyday Rafael got more confident being around children and Sonny loved watching both of them grow. Elena grew sassier and he blamed Rafael for that. 

The first time Sonny asked Rafael if he could pick her from daycare was when she was two and a half years old, closer to three. He was about to leave work when they got a new case and had to stay and help. 

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and dialed Rafael, “Hello” Barba picked up at the third ring. 

“Hey Raf, we just got a new case, I don’t know when I will be home. Can you pick up Elena for me? I added you to the approved list of people who are allowed to do pickups last week. If you can’t, I'm sure my ma could do it.” Sonny was putting his jacket on, heading out of the precinct towards the car.

“Sonny, I can pick her up. We can spend some quality time together. You do what you have to do, and we will see you when you get home.” 

“Thank you, Rafi, I appreciate it. I’ll try to get home as soon as possible. I gotta go, love you.” He heard Rafael say I love you back as he ended the call, getting into the car. Rollins gave him a look.

“Everything alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine.” He started the car and took off towards the address he was given. 

-

About a half-hour later, Rafael was walking into Sami’s Day Care Center. A young woman greeted him warmly. Her name tag says, Jennifer. 

“Good afternoon! Who are we picking up today?” 

“Elena Carisi, I’m Rafael Barba.” Rafael rested his arms on the counter. 

“Can I see some form of identification, please?” 

“Oh yes, of course,” He reached for his wallet, pulling out his ID, “Here you go.” 

She took it and started typing on her computer. A few minutes she gave him back his ID, “Perfect! I’ll go get her! She is such a good kid!” 

“She is.” 

She disappeared behind the door leaving Rafael alone in the front. Five minutes later, she reappeared with Elena in her arms, her bag over her shoulder. When Elena saw Rafael, she started to squeal, reaching out to him, “Wafa!” 

He reached out and took Elena in his arms, she wrapped her little arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly. “Is there anything I need to know?” 

“Nope! She was excellent like always! She shared her toys with the other kids without being asked to!” 

“She’s good at sharing, we’ve been working on it with her more lately.” Rafael grabbed the bag from Jennifer and draped it over his free shoulder. 

“We can tell!” 

“Okay Elena, say goodbye to Jennifer, we gotta get going.” Elena looked at Jennifer and Jennifer smiled waving her hand at her.

“Buh-bye!” She waved her hand goodbye. 

Rafael walked out and started walking back towards Sonny’s place. They haven’t reached the point in their relationship where they move in with each other, Sonny wanted to make sure they would last, for Elena’s sake. She’s too young to understand why Rafael would stop coming around if they ever broke up. He wouldn’t do that to her. 

“Alright little one, are you hungry?” Rafael asked, walking into a local family-owned grocery store. 

“Ya!”

“What do you want?” Rafael grabbed a cart and placed Elena in the cart, buckling her in, throwing the bag in the basket part of the cart. 

“Dino nuggets! Dino nuggets!” She started clapping her hands excitedly, Rafael let out a chuckle.

“I don’t know if daddy will like that, but what he doesn't know won’t hurt him.” Rafael started pushing the shopping cart towards the freezer section. 

When he got there he grabbed the bag of organic dino chicken nuggets and placed them in the cart, “We have to have some sort of vegetable, I know you aren’t a big fan of them, but can you try for me? We can make them a different way than you normally had them.” 

Elena thought for a moment before nodding, “I try!” 

“Good girl” Rafael placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. 

“Excuse me, sir” Someone tapped on Rafael's shoulder, he turned around to see an older lady, probably in her mid-eighties. 

“Yes, ma'am, can I help you with something?” 

“Oh no! I just wanted to say you have an adorable daughter! I overheard you asking her to try something she didn’t like and I am impressed that she was willing to try! When my kids were that age I could never get them to try something they hated!” 

_Daughter._

He didn’t have the heart to correct her, to let her know that she isn’t his. Not really at least. Every day she felt more and more like his own, “Thank you, we’ve been trying to reintroduce her to different vegetables, hasn’t been easy.” 

“You are doing a wonderful job!” She placed a hand on his arm.

“I can’t take all the credit, my partner played a huge role in this, he's an excellent chef. The extent of my cooking is precooked food you throw in the oven or microwave.” The both of them laughed. 

“Well, tell him he is doing a brilliant job! Have a good rest of our day, the both of you!” She waved goodbye to Elena who looked like she was lost in her own world, and gave Rafael a nod. 

Rafael made his way to the produce area, looking at the different vegetables they have in stock right now. He grabbed a bag of carrots, a head of broccoli, and cauliflower. As he placed them in the cart, his phone started to ring, digging it out of his pocket he saw it was Sonny. 

“Hello cariño” 

“Rafa, it’s good to hear your voice.”

Rafael was confused, “It's only been two hours since we last talk, is everything okay?”

“It's just this case, it's a bad one, it’s a lot to take in. I just missed you, and Elena. I’m giving her extra cuddles tonight.” Sonny always got this away whenever a case involved a child, especially when they were Elena’s age. 

“I’m sure she would love that. Here I’ll put you on speaker so you can talk to her,” Rafael put his phone on speaker and held it close to Elena, “Daddy is on the phone, say hello.” 

“Daddy! HI! Wafa said I can have dino nuggies!” He heard Sonny let out a laugh.

“Oh did he now? Aren’t you lucky! Will there be a healthy option with these dino nuggies?” Sonny’s dad's voice came out.

“Yeah! I told him I will try to eat the vegetables!” 

“I figured since she doesn’t like them raw, we would try them in a different way. Try steaming them.” 

“Do you even know how to do that?” Rude Rafael thought. 

“Ha ha very funny. I know how to use the steamer,” Maybe. How hard could it be? “Oh, I am supposed to tell you that you are doing a brilliant job with Elena.” 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“I asked Elena if she could at least try the vegetables again because I knew she didn’t like them last time and a nice old lady came over to tell me that.” 

“You do a wonderful job too, you know, you have helped so much with her.” Sonny was being Sonny.

“She told me that as well. Hey, I am about to go check out, call me when you’re about to leave?”

“I don’t know when that will be, but of course. I love you.”

“Love you too, say goodbye, Elena.”

“Bye, daddy! Love you!” 

“I love you, my shining light. Bye Rafa.” With that Sonny hung up and Rafael shoved his phone back into his pocket, walking into the open cashier lane. 

-

When they got to Sonny’s place, Elena ran to the toy box and picked up her favorite toy, and started to play on the floor in the living room. Rafael set the bag of groceries on the counter, setting the oven to 425 degrees. While he waited for the oven to preheat he started to clean the vegetables and cut them up into smaller pieces for the steamer. He placed the dino chicken nuggets on a baking sheet and put them in the oven and set a timer for ten minutes. He placed the washed and cut vegetables in the steamer, setting another timer for eight minutes. 

While he waited for the food to be done, he started to clean up the kitchen and living room. He knew Sonny has been busy with work and hasn’t had a chance to clean up, Rafael didn’t mind picking up. Sonny worked hard and he wanted him to relax when he got home. The first timer went off and Rafael checked to make sure the vegetables were done, he took a fork and tasted them. He grabbed two plates from the cabinets near the oven and split the steamed vegetables between the two plates. He pulled the nuggets out of the oven and placed some on a plate. He placed Elena’s plate in the freezer for a minute to help cool down the food so it wouldn’t be too hot for her. 

“Elena honey, come and wash your hands. Food is done!” He called out to her, she came running.

He picked her up and held her close to the sink so she could wash her hands, Rafael helping to make sure they were clean. He set her down on her booster seat and pushed her chair in. Walking back to the freezer he took the food out and started to cut up the nuggets into small pieces so she wouldn’t choke. He put a small amount of ketchup on the plate. He placed the plate in front of her with a child fork. 

“What do you want to drink? Water, milk, or apple juice?” He knew the answer already, getting the apple juice from the fridge.

“Apple juice!!” He poured some in her favorite cup and placed a lid on it, checking if it's on tightly. 

He set the cup in front of her, “What do you say?” 

“Thank you, can I eat now?” He nodded and she started to eat. Rafael sat down in the chair next to her and started to eat his food as well. 

-

After dinner, Rafael gave Elena a bath, he allowed her to play in the water for a little bit with her astronaut rubber ducky named Pluto. After playtime, he washed her hair and let her scrub her body. Getting out he put her in her favorite pj’s. Paw Patrol, Chase was all over them. Chase was her favorite because he was just like her daddy. He combed out her hair and helped her brush her teeth. Her bedtime was soon and he wanted to get everything done while she was still awake. 

He let her pick out a book to read, she picked The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be.  
She would normally fall asleep halfway through a book, but she was still awake when Rafael finished. He started to sing her to sleep, shortly after he started, she was sound asleep. She was curled up on his chest, his arms around her to keep her in place. He was soon asleep as well.

-

Sonny came home late, a lot later than he would have liked to, but he needed to do his job. He tried to call Rafael to let him know he was coming home, but there was no answer, he assumed he was asleep. He put his keys in the door and unlocked it, opening it quietly he walked in and shut it, locking it behind him. He took his shoes off and jacket and made his way to the bedroom when he saw Rafael on the couch. He made his way over, seeing how cute the two most special people in his life, fast asleep on the couch. He took a picture of them before waking Rafael up. 

“Raf. Raf, wake up.” He shook him gently, Rafael slowly opened his eyes. 

“Sonny. What time is it?” Rafael asked as he rubbed his eyes with one hand still holding Elena in the other. 

“Almost four in the morning. I tried to call you,” Sonny picked up Elena gently, snuggling her close into his chest, rocking back and forth, resting his cheek on the top of her head. “Go to bed, I’ll be there soon.” 

“No, I’ll stay here with you.” Rafael looked at Sonny with so much love for him and Elena. He couldn’t imagine a life without the two of them. 

2.

A few months after she turned three, she got sick and ended up in the hospital. Sonny was undercover at the time so Rafael had to take her in. Rafael first noticed she had a fever and a stuffy nose when he woke her up in the morning, she wasn't her usual cheerful self, she looked miserable. He could hear her wheezing. He took her to the bathroom and sat her down on the counter, keeping one hand on her legs to prevent her from falling and the other reached in the medicine cabinet and took out the thermometer. Running it across her forehead he waited a second before pulling it away. It read 101.2°F. He frowned. 

“Come on honey, I’m gonna take you to go see Dr. Hill.” Picking her up and bringing her back to her room to change her clothes. He changed into jeans and a green sweater. 

He finished getting her ready and sent Sonny a text, knowing he probably wouldn’t see it. He wanted to let him know what was happening with his daughter. 

As the two of them left the apartment, Rafael made a call to set up an appointment with Dr. Hill, Elena was clinging onto Rafael, the wheezing getting worse. 

-  
They arrived shortly later, Elena had fallen back asleep on the way over. Walking in, he walked to the receptionist desk, “We have an appointment with Dr. Hill at 11:30 for Elena Carisi.” 

The man behind the desk gave Rafael some paperwork to fill out while they waited. Elena was sitting in his lap, laying against his chest, struggling to breathe with her stuffy nose. She started coughing. Soon after he finished the paperwork they called them back. 

“Good morning, Elena isn’t feeling well, is she?” The nurse, who they always had, nurse Jimmy asked as they walked into the exam room. He sat where the computer was and offered for Rafael to sit down next to them. “What’s going on?”

“When I woke her up this morning, she felt warm and she sounded congested. I took her temperature and it was at 101.2. That's when I noticed she was wheezing as well. She's been pretty quiet all day, which isn’t usual for her.” Jimmy was typing away on the computer. 

“Okay, anything else?” Jimmy asked as he turned in his chair towards Rafael.

“Uh, when we got here she started to cough here and there, but besides that no.” Jimmy rolled the chair so he was closer to Elena. 

“I wanna take her temperature again and Dr. Hill will be in shortly,” He grabbed the thermometer again and took her temperature, “104 degrees. I will get Dr. Hill in here.” He had a bit of panic in his voice that he tried to mask but Rafael caught it.   
Dr. Hill came in shortly after nurse Jimmy left. Rafael was thankful, Elena was starting to get fussy. 

“Mr. Barba, I'm Dr. Hill,” She reached out and shook Rafael’s hand, “You said when you woke her up, she felt warm, congested, was wheezing, and just started to have a cough, is that correct?”

Rafael nodded his head, “Yes Ma’am. When I took her temperature at home it was 101.2 and now it's 104.” 

“I wanna run some tests if that’s alright with you. Have you heard of RSV?” 

“RSV? No, I haven't.” Rafael knew about a lot of things, but when it came to anything medical, he was lost. 

“RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, it's basically infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. It’s pretty common that most children get it by the time they are two. There are a few different ways we can test for that, we can do a nasal aspirate, where I will inject a saline solution into the nose, then remove the sample with gentle suction. A swab test, which is self-explanatory, I would swab the nose or throat to get a sample or we can do a blood test. But with her being so young, I typically advise against the blood test.” 

Rafael was listening to every word she said, “What one would hurt the least? I don’t want to put her through more pain than she needs to be in.” 

“Both will be a bit uncomfortable, the swabbing could cause some gagging or discomfort. The effects from both will only be temporary and should go away shortly after.” Rafael took some time to decide. 

“We can do the swab test.” She nodded and got up and opened the cupboard and took out the swabs. She washed her hands before putting on gloves and opened the swab. 

“Okay Elena, I am going to take this swab and quickly swab the back of your throat. It might feel uncomfy but It will be fast, okay?” Elena nodded. 

“Can you open your mouth and go ahhh for me?” 

“Ahhh” Dr. Hill quickly put the swab in her mouth, swabbing the back of her throat, Elena started to gag, “It’s almost over.” She did one final swab and pulled it out and stuck it in the sterile tube to get tested. “You did an amazing job, honey.” 

Elena turned her face back into Rafael’s chest, tears in her eyes. Rafael started to rub her back. 

“I am going to put a rush on this and I will let you know the results, you hang tight in here. Do you need anything to drink? Coffee, tea, water?” 

“If you have the chance, coffee would be nice, thank you.” She nodded her head and walked out leaving the two of them in the room.

-

Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the door, “Come in,” Dr. Hill walked back into the room with a stack of papers.

“So the results came back positive for RSV. Her symptoms are pretty severe so I want to admit her to the hospital so we can properly treat and monitor her. There is a bed ready now if you would like to follow me.” They got up and started walking to a different room.

“What is the treatment plan like?” 

“We want to put her on oxygen and we will see how that goes and most likely have her on IV.” They continued walking, pasting the waiting room.

“Do you know how long she will have to stay here?” What could happen if it gets worse?” For someone who said they were terrible with children, Rafael was deeply concerned, asking a million questions. Something about Elena changed him, he said he would never have children, but Elena felt like his own, he has been around her for only a year and she changed him this much. 

“It all depends on how well she takes to the oxygen and fluids. Most are only like this for a handful of days. If she gets worse, we will continue to treat her, might have to intubate with a ventilator. Here we are. Nurse Hansen will be taking care of Elena for the remainder of the day. You’re in good hands here.”

“Thank you, Dr. Hill.” 

-

It's been two hours since she had been admitted to the hospital, she has an oxygen tube connected to her and an Iv in her arm. She started to cry, all of this was becoming too much for her, on top of being sick. 

“I want daddy” Rafael’s heart broke. Elena was still too young to fully understand why her dad disappeared for a while, Rafael stepped up and tried to be there as much as he could. But nothing could replace daddy. 

“I know sweetheart, I know. Daddy is busy taking down bad guys. I’m here though, I know I can't compare to him, but I’m not going anywhere, okay?” Rafael tried to comfort her, she was crying even more. He sang to her softly, a Spanish lullaby that his Abuelita used to sing to him anytime he was sick, rocking her back and forth trying to get her to calm down.

-

Elena finally fell asleep, her nurse in the room checking her vitals, “If you want to leave to get coffee or something to eat, down the hall is a coffee machine and a variety of food. I can stay here until you come back. You look like you could use it.” Rafael definitely needed it. 

“Thanks, I will be quick.” He looked at the sleeping Elena and left the room heading down the hall. He made his coffee extra strong and ate a bag of pretzels while he waited for it to finish. The coffee was surprisingly good for a hospital coffee maker. 

He made his way back to the room when someone called his name, “Rafael!”

He looked up and saw Sonny standing down the hall, “Sonny, I thought you were undercover for at least the remainder of the week.” 

“I was but I got your text and I told lieu if she could check up on you two and she pulled me out. I got here as quickly as I could. How is she?” 

“She’s okay, she is sleeping right now. I think the oxygen and fluids are helping. She cried for you and I felt so helpless. What was I supposed to tell her?” Rafael walked over to Sonny and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“Rafi, you did what you could. She loves you and you’re amazing with her. Some days I think she might love you more than she loves me,” Sonny held him close, “She's just sick right now, when she was born she was always sick, and I would never leave her side. She is just doing what she knows.” 

“I think she will feel better fast now that you’re here. So will I. I love you.” 

“I love you too.”

3.

Elena was starting preschool, Sonny thought it was time. She is good with her letters, but numbers are where she struggles the most. Both Sonny and Rafael try hard to help her, but it's just not clicking for her. She can get up to ten but struggles after that. They sent her to Sonny’s parent's house so they could shop around for the best possible preschool for her. 

They looked at a handful of them online first, to see what they wanted and didn’t want in a preschool. They wanted it to be in a safe neighborhood, to have strong social interactions with other kids and the teachers, well-educated teachers. They wanted a place where they had boundaries but still allowed them to feel confident, loved, nurtured, and gave them the option to grow. They wanted a place that was accepting of people regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. 

They agreed on some places to call and set up an interview with them and tour the school. They didn’t want to bring Elena the first time around, they wanted to narrow it down to a few before bringing Elena with them to see which one she liked. 

They had it picked between two of them. Both of them were happy with Elena going to either one, both checked off everything on their list. Both of them were close enough to the precinct and the DA’s office. One was a bit more expensive than the other but they could make it work. 

“Ah you two must be Mr. Caris and Mr. Barba, I am Mrs. Yang,” She shook both Sonny’s and Rafael's hands, “And that makes you Elena.” She bent down to be face to face with Elena as she said the last part. 

“Welcome to Sunshine Academy. We are so happy to have you here! Come let's go inside.” She turned around and started to walk towards the front door of the main building, they followed right behind them. 

They stopped in the middle of the atrium, the walls covered in bright colors, filled with art from students, “At Sunshine Academy, we value our students and their work they do here. Every week we change the artwork to show off different students' work and give them the chance to be proud of themselves to see their projects on display.” They walked along the walls and looked at the different art pieces. 

“We strive to bring out the creative side in kids while still teaching them what they need to know to strive. We recognize that everyone is different and learn differently, we want to help them find the best possible way for them to learn and make it fun!” Elena got distracted by the pretty colors and tuned out the adults talking. 

“We have a set schedule every day, making sure we get the core subjects in, and towards the end of the day we give teachers leeway on what they want to do as long as it's appropriate and will help them. This can range from music therapy, free creative time, storytime, show and tell, theater, or athletics. We love to learn about different cultures as well, we find it important for children to learn and understand people who might not look like them or believe like them.”

The two of them could tell she was passionate and truly believed in what they do here. They were falling in love more and more with this place. They could see Elena excelling here. They only want the best for her. 

“Shall we continue?” Mrs. Yang asked as she held out her arm directing them down the hall. 

“Of course, Elena, come on little one.” Sonny grabbed her hand and followed Mrs. Yang.

“Down this hall, you will find the preschool classrooms. Each class has about 15-16 students, we want to make sure each student gets the attention they need. When class sizes get too big, students tend to fall behind because they feel like they can’t ask for help as easily.” 

-

They finished touring the school, they asked question after question and Mrs. Yang eagerly answered them. They allowed Elena to play on the playground while they finished up talking. 

“Elena seems to love it here.” Rafael stood closer to Sonny, with his arm around his waist watching Elena play. 

“She fits in perfectly here, we would be honored to have her here.”

“Daddy, Wafa watch me!” Elena climbed up the stairs and slid down the slide. 

-

“I loved Sunshine Academy over Discovery Academy. I had a terrible feeling while we were there.” Sonny said as he climbed into bed. It was true, the whole time they were there, something was nagging at the back of his mind. This was not the place where he wanted to send her daughter. 

“I agree, Elena seemed to love it there as well. I think she would do well there.” Rafael turned onto his side to face Sonny. 

“So Sunshine Academy it is. I will give them a call in the morning.” 

4.

Sonny had the day off while Rafael didn’t, he had meetings with Rita Calhoun, John Buchanan, and with the rest of the ADAs. It was a long day for him and he couldn’t wait for it to be over. Anytime he had a meeting with Buchanan, he wanted to down the bottle of scotch he kept in his office. 

The meeting with Calhoun was eventful. They managed to agree to a plea deal for her client, he had information that could lead to a prostitution ring. He passed on the information to Olivia. 

“Rafael, you seem a lot happier since you got into a relationship with that detective. He has a kid right? How’s that going? You told me you couldn’t see yourself having children.” Sonny and Rafael have been engaged for half the year already, but no one knew, they wanted to wait for a while. 

“It's going well. I’ve grown more within this relationship than I have with previous ones, and Elena had a huge role in that. You know about my past, I was so hesitant once I found out about her. I didn’t want to mess it up, but I tried. For Sonny’s sake, at least, I didn’t want to throw away something that was going so well.” Rafael hardly talked like this with anyone but Sonny, Olivia, and Rita. He trusted those three the most. 

“Does it feel weird practically raising a child with Sonny? I mean, she isn’t legally yours or biologically. It’s a lot of added pressure in a relationship.” 

“At first it was, you know? I didn’t see all the major milestones, like crawling, walking, and all that. But, I don’t know,” He paused, trying to figure out how he wants to say the next part, “I like it more than I thought I ever would. She relies so much on Sonny and I. It's nice. Can’t imagine my life without either one.” 

“I know she isn’t legally or biologically mine, but she feels like it. She has been in my life since she was two and a half and she will be five next week.” Rafael leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Have you and Sonny talked about you adopting her?” Rita asked. 

“Honestly? No, we haven’t. We like what we have now and don’t feel the need to change it. Plus we aren’t even married yet.” Rita gave him a look.

“Yet? Does that mean it will be happening soon?” Rita always managed to get things out of Rafael.

“Don’t tell anyone, we wanted to keep it quiet for a little while longer, but no we haven’t decided on a date yet. We’ve only been engaged for half a year, and it’s been a busy year. Haven’t had time to plan anything.” That’s the truth, this year has been one of the busiest so far in terms of cases. It seems like every couple of days there's a new one with no break between them.

“Well, congratulations, I won’t tell anyone.” Rita could always keep a secret. 

“Thank you, Rita. I don’t mean to cut our conversation short but I have a meeting with Mr. Buchanan here shortly and I need enough time to mentally prepare myself for that.” Rita let out a laugh and got up from her chair and bid Rafael farewell and left. 

He had thirty minutes before Buchanan was supposed to show up, he sat at his desk going over the files of his client as a refresher. His phone started to ring, Sonny wanted to video chat. He hit answer and Sonny and Elena showed up on his screen. 

“Sorry I know you are busy, but Elena wanted to say hello, we will be quick.” 

“Have time before I meet with Buchanan,” Sonny made a face, “I know. This was just what I needed before that.” 

“Hi, Wafi! I miss you!” She still can’t say her r’s properly.

“Hi honey, I miss you too. I should be home in a few hours. I just have two more meetings and I will be home. What have you and daddy been doing?” These are the moments Rafael loves the most. 

“Coloring! I made you a picture! For your office!” 

“Oh yeah? What did you make me?”

“It's a secret! You will find out when you come home! Wight daddy!” She asked, turning her head towards Sonny.

“You're right, but I think he will love it. She did it all by herself, she is quite the artist. Better than what I was at her age.” Sonny laughed and Rafael could have sworn he fell more in love with him. 

“I can’t wait to see it,” There was a knock on his door, “Looks like Buchanan is here, I love you both.” 

“Love you!” Elena blew him a kiss.

“Love you, Raf, see you when you get home.” Sonny was gone from his screen and he put his phone away before telling Buchanan to come in.

5.

Elena was six now, she still calls Rafael by his name. To say it disappoints Rafael a little bit is an understatement. He has been there through a lot with her and Sonny now. As far as he was concerned, she was his daughter now. Sonny and Rafael have been married for almost a year now. They got a new place together, he’s been to every parent-teacher conference when he didn’t have to be in court. He was there for her first broken bone. But he was still Rafael, it hurt. But he would never force her to say or do something she didn’t want to do. He never brought it up with Sonny either, decided he was making it a bigger deal than it had to be. He would just have to be content with being Rafa, or Rafi. Other people call him that, so Elena saying it shouldn’t be a problem. He won’t let it be a problem. He loved his family and to him, that's all that matters.

He had to stay at work later than he wanted too but he needed to get caught up on the case files. He told Sonny that and Sonny understood, he’s had to stay late a few times this week as well. Rafael sent Carmen home hours ago, there was no point in her staying late. He was going to finish up and head home. 

Hours have passed and it was now a quarter to eight, he knew he missed dinner. He only had two more case files to look over and he would head out for the night. He wanted to get home, cuddle with his two loves and watch a movie. It’s Friday night, Elena was allowed to stay up past her bedtime, only if she did all of her homework. That was their agreement, and Elena always finished her homework at a reasonable time. She was only allowed to stay up past her bedtime on Friday nights. Friday night was family night, and Rafael was missing it. 

More time must have passed because he heard a knock on his door before it opened and Sonny, carrying Elena in his arms, walked through it.

“Sonny, Elena, what are you doing here, I was just finishing up here.” Rafael dropped his pen on his desk. 

“Raf, it's almost 10 pm, we got worried, so Elena here wanted to come to you.” Sonny set Elena down on the ground and she walked over to Rafael, he picked her up and sat her on his lap. 

“I’m sorry I stayed so late, I lost track of time. There was a lot to go through. But we can head back home now, yeah?” 

“It's okay Papi, work is important!” Did he just hear that correctly?

“What did you just call me?” 

“Papi!” Rafael’s eyes shot up to Sonny, Sonny had a smile on his face. 

“She’s been saying that all day. ‘Where's Papi?’ ‘When will Papi be home?’ ‘Can we go see Papi?’ I was as shocked as you. I don’t know where it came from, this was all on her own. You okay with that?” Sonny walked towards the desk, standing by Rafael's chair, he leaned against the chair.

“I am more than okay with that. I’ve been waiting for years for her to call me that.” Rafael wouldn’t admit it to anyone who asked, but he had tears in his eyes. 

“Papi are you okay? Don’t cry. I’m sorry!” Elena hugged Rafael tight, thinking she did something wrong. 

“Oh sweetheart, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just happy. These are happy tears. Te Quiero hija.” 

“Alright you two, let's go home, it’s getting late and we still have to do movie night,” Sonny said as he picked up Elena so Rafael could put his things away.

“What movie are we watching tonight?” Rafael asked as he finished putting his paperwork into the briefcase.

“Ratatouille!” Elena blurted out, causing the two men to laugh.

“Looks like we are watching Ratatouille, lets go.” Rafael locked up his office and they headed home. Elena reached for Rafael and he took her from Sonny’s arms.

+1 

A few weeks after Elena first called Rafael papi, it was his birthday. Elena had the perfect present for Rafael. She has been working on it with Sonny. It’s something Rafael never expected to happen. Sonny and Elena have been trying so hard to keep it a secret from Rafael. Any time Rafael asked Elena what she was working on, she would always reply that it was part of his birthday present and he had to wait, just like she had to wait for hers. 

Rafael didn’t want a party, he just wanted to spend time with his family. That's the best birthday present he could get. But Sonny being Sonny, planned a party anyways, it was small, only the squad, Lucia Barba, and Sonny’s family would be there. The day before Rafael’s birthday, Elena and him spent all day baking some of Rafael’s favorite treats. Elena loved to bake so she helped Sonny as much as she could, even when she was a toddler. 

Rafael should have known something was up when Sonny kicked him out of the house for the day. He didn’t mind as much, he was meaning to pay his mother a visit anyways. 

-

“Rafi!” Lucia Barba answered the door pulling her son in for a hug. 

“Mami,” Rafael hugged her back as he stepped into her apartment, “I missed you.”

“You wouldn’t miss me if you came around more!” It was true, he’s been busy with work, but he knew he should have made time for his mother. 

“I’m sorry Mami, work has been hectic lately. I will try to come by more, I promise.” Lucia placed her hand on Rafael’s cheek before pulling away. 

“Bring Sonny and Elena next time!” 

“I will, they kicked me out of the apartment so they could do God knows what.” 

“Well your birthday is tomorrow Rafi, you’re smart, you can figure it out.” She knew something that he didn’t. 

“Let's hope I still have a kitchen after they are done. Sonny can get a little carried away when it comes to baking.” 

“I don’t see you complaining, you love treats, always have even as a kid. I tried to give you some when he wasn’t around.” Him. Rafael shivered. 

“Let's not talk about him, yeah?” She nodded, “Good. So how have you been?”

-

It was the morning of Rafael’s birthday, he was woken up by someone jumping on him singing happy birthday loudly.

“Darling I told you to wake him up nicely.” Sonny was standing at the end of the bed.

“Sorry daddy, I’m just excited for today!” She really was Sonny’s kid, she had so much energy, she could power the whole neighborhood. 

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to, I will be right back.” Sonny left the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen.

“I’m sorry I woke you up like that Papi.” Rafael pulled her into a hug which she returned.

“It’s okay honey, I couldn’t think of a better way to wake up on my birthday.” Sonny came back in carrying a tray of breakfast food and a cup of coffee.

“Breakfast in bed, our little one here decided she wanted to spoil you all day. She made everything, with supervision of course.” Rafael sat up and sat against the headboard for support. Sonny placed the tray over his lap, on it were scrambled eggs, bacon, and some pancakes and coffee how Rafael likes it. The newspaper with the crossword was on the tray as well. 

They allowed him to eat in peace and waited in the living room until he was done. Elena was getting nervous about her present to him. She worked so hard on it and she was proud of it. When she told Sonny what she wanted to do, he thought it was an excellent idea, and that he would love it. They will get to officially be a family. Finally complete. Maybe a cat or a dog in the future. But first, they had to do this. 

Twenty minutes later Rafael came out of the bedroom, carrying the tray, his plate and cup now empty. He placed the cup and plate in the sink and put away the tray before he made his way over to Sonny and Elena sitting on the couch. He sat down next to them. 

“Can I give him my present now?” Elena asked Sonny, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

“If you want, or you can wait until later when everyone else is here, the choice is yours, dear.” Before Sonny could finish, she was up and running to her room. She came back shortly after with a bag and a folder. 

Sonny got up from the couch and made his way across the room so he could record Rafael’s reaction. Elena sat on the couch next to him, giving him the bag first. “Opening this first Papi! I think you will like it! I worked hard on them!” 

Rafael carefully opened the bag, he saw a picture frame and it was a picture of the three of them at the Christmas party from last year. Elena was in between the two of them as they kissed her cheek. It was one of Rafael’s favorite pictures of them, he wanted to frame it and leave it in his office. There was more stuff in the bag, he reached in and pulled them out. It was a pile of artwork she has been working on. He looked through them, with a smile on his face. There were drawings of things they have done together over the years, leading up to when she first called him Papi. 

“Do you like them!” She asked excitedly with a huge smile on her face. 

“I love them, I think they would look nice hanging up in my office, don’t you? Show everyone who comes in the beautiful artwork you did!” Rafael kissed her forehead. 

Elena opened the folder and pulled out a letter, “Here, read this. Out loud though!” 

Rafael took the letter and started to read it. 

_“Dear Papi,_

_Thank you for being the best papi anyone could ask for! I love you! But you knew that already cause you’re really smart. I think you are the smartest person I know and Miss Kristy, my teacher, is really smart! You are really good at your job! Daddy catches the bad guys and you put them away, you make a good team!_

_You have helped me grow since I was a toddler, that was a lot of responsibility! Daddy said you did a really good job even though you were scared! You didn’t have to be scared, Papi! I was only a toddler I couldn’t hurt you! But daddy said you got over your fear quickly and did everything with me when daddy couldn’t. Like when I got really sick and had to go to the hospital, that was freaky. Daddy told me you and I bonded right away, I would always cry when you had to leave! I didn’t want you to leave. I like having you around, I hope you are around for many more years! You have taught me a lot of things, even random things that I didn’t even know! I know you have more to teach me._

_You make my daddy really happy. That makes me happy to see him happy! I don’t like when you kiss though! That's gross! Don’t do it in front of me, please! I like when Daddy goes undercover, you let me stay up late and let me eat all the dino nuggies! Or when you let me sleep on daddy’s side of the bed! You spoil me, Papi!_

_Daddy told me about my mama and how she died giving birth to me and how he didn’t think he would find love again. But then you came along! He told me that he would always talk about you when I was little, maybe that's why I like you so much! He told me legally or biologically, whatever that means, you aren’t my real papi, but I don't care I think you are! So why don’t you say we make this official! Will you adopt me?” ___

__Rafael's eyes widened, tears in his eyes, he looked at Elena then Sonny, “Is this for real?”_ _

__“Yeah, it's for real Raf. So, what do you say? Wanna make this family official?” Sonny was still recording, he was also crying._ _

__“Absolutely! Was this your idea?” He asked Sonny as he pulled Elena for a tight hug._ _

__“Nope, this was all her idea, I just helped with the paperwork. She came to me the night, where she first called you Papi and asked about it. It's been so hard to keep it from you!” Sonny stopped recording and made his way over to his family, joining in on the hug._ _

__

__“Mi familia para siempre.”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Idk how I feel about this one to be honest, let me know what you think!


End file.
